I want to make video games. I currently have accomplished NOTHING toward this goal except for failing a Digital Animation course at the local Technical Institute and playing lots of video games.

STOP BEING A FUCK UP AND APPLY YOURSELF!

If you can't apply yourself to digital animation try your hand at art/design, marketing or programming. If you can't do any of this, start looking for something else.

I'm actually designing an iPhone game that should be out when I find a goddamned programmer and have my wonderful PD.com helpers finish the stuff they're doing for me. I'm hoping to have it in a playable state by 2010.

If you want any help with the less-concrete parts of game design, Freeky, (game flow, level design, pacing, mechanics design, difficulty balance, etc) just ask me. I can't help with any of the real-world development stuff, though, just what you need to write a good design document and keep the people in charge from ruining everything.

Also, I highly suggest learning to program. I missed out on that shit when I had the chance and now nobody wants to teach me. And finding a goddamn programmer is easily the hardest part of this so far: I've run into two, and both wimped out. Compare to the 5 musicians and 16 (!) artists who were interested, most of whom (again) flaked but THANK GOD FOR PEEDY.

(FTR: you can get very good deals in the game industry if you have "bonus" skills. Architectural design, knowing most common game release languages and screenwriting skills are all highly coveted in the current market. At least two of those would make you invaluable to whatever company you worked for. Nevertheless, I highly suggest you avoid large companies if you go into the field because they have absolutely criminal hours. 100 hour weeks are not uncommon during crunch time, and no matter how valuable you are, you're expendable if you can't work those.)

I want to make video games. I currently have accomplished NOTHING toward this goal except for failing a Digital Animation course at the local Technical Institute and playing lots of video games.

STOP BEING A FUCK UP AND APPLY YOURSELF!

If you can't apply yourself to digital animation try your hand at art/design, marketing or programming. If you can't do any of this, start looking for something else.

I'm actually designing an iPhone game that should be out when I find a goddamned programmer and have my wonderful PD.com helpers finish the stuff they're doing for me. I'm hoping to have it in a playable state by 2010.

If you want any help with the less-concrete parts of game design, Freeky, (game flow, level design, pacing, mechanics design, difficulty balance, etc) just ask me. I can't help with any of the real-world development stuff, though, just what you need to write a good design document and keep the people in charge from ruining everything.

Also, I highly suggest learning to program. I missed out on that shit when I had the chance and now nobody wants to teach me. And finding a goddamn programmer is easily the hardest part of this so far: I've run into two, and both wimped out. Compare to the 5 musicians and 16 (!) artists who were interested, most of whom (again) flaked but THANK GOD FOR PEEDY.

(FTR: you can get very good deals in the game industry if you have "bonus" skills. Architectural design, knowing most common game release languages and screenwriting skills are all highly coveted in the current market. At least two of those would make you invaluable to whatever company you worked for. Nevertheless, I highly suggest you avoid large companies if you go into the field because they have absolutely criminal hours. 100 hour weeks are not uncommon during crunch time, and no matter how valuable you are, you're expendable if you can't work those.)

Consider designing games for Android and WebOS. It's a smaller market and in many cases the apps are easily ported. Android and WebOS are going to be big. Also consider other Linux friendly OSes like Maemo.

I've just recently reached my goal of earning a living working with my hands and not having an employer. Now just need to keep it up while I work at:

earning a living by writing whatever people will throw money at me for writing. Preferably fiction. Got my ass in gear last year and finished 1st draft. Working on the shame/guilt cycle which will propel me through the 2nd draft.

Should fiction fail, or take my estimated 10 years to accomplish, technical or other non-ficion writing will do. Trouble is, a life in front of the tv has left me with little life experience useful to a writer. Working on that by gaining professional experience, havin' babbies, and fucking up my safe people-free bubble.

Eventually, I want to have a self-built, efficiently designed home and be able to do my job from anywhere. Whatever my job is.

I want to make video games. I currently have accomplished NOTHING toward this goal except for failing a Digital Animation course at the local Technical Institute and playing lots of video games.

STOP BEING A FUCK UP AND APPLY YOURSELF!

If you can't apply yourself to digital animation try your hand at art/design, marketing or programming. If you can't do any of this, start looking for something else.

I'm actually designing an iPhone game that should be out when I find a goddamned programmer and have my wonderful PD.com helpers finish the stuff they're doing for me. I'm hoping to have it in a playable state by 2010.

If you want any help with the less-concrete parts of game design, Freeky, (game flow, level design, pacing, mechanics design, difficulty balance, etc) just ask me. I can't help with any of the real-world development stuff, though, just what you need to write a good design document and keep the people in charge from ruining everything.

Also, I highly suggest learning to program. I missed out on that shit when I had the chance and now nobody wants to teach me. And finding a goddamn programmer is easily the hardest part of this so far: I've run into two, and both wimped out. Compare to the 5 musicians and 16 (!) artists who were interested, most of whom (again) flaked but THANK GOD FOR PEEDY.

(FTR: you can get very good deals in the game industry if you have "bonus" skills. Architectural design, knowing most common game release languages and screenwriting skills are all highly coveted in the current market. At least two of those would make you invaluable to whatever company you worked for. Nevertheless, I highly suggest you avoid large companies if you go into the field because they have absolutely criminal hours. 100 hour weeks are not uncommon during crunch time, and no matter how valuable you are, you're expendable if you can't work those.)

Consider designing games for Android and WebOS. It's a smaller market and in many cases the apps are easily ported. Android and WebOS are going to be big. Also consider other Linux friendly OSes like Maemo.

I'm porting it to the phones it'll work for (limited to those with touchscreens) and also all PC OSes (yay mouse). If it's successful at all I MIGHT completely redesign it to work on normal phones, but if and only if that happens. Most likely, it won't get much bigger than the most obscure of Atlus games is in America. I might hit a bigger market if I can get it translated and published in Japanworld.

I spend my days learning, reading, and doing various other activities of wonder and debauchery. When I have time, I get payed to stare at caddisfly genitalia under a microscope, and sort them like an autistic might sort buttons.

So, what do you think? Pretty damn good life, eh?

Logged

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. --Loren Eisley, The Immense Journey

Her Royal Majesty's Chief of Insect Genitalia DissectionGrand Visser of the Six Legged ClassChanticleer of the Holometabola Clade Church, Diptera Parish